Ottumwa High School
| Ottumwa High School | |
| |
| Established | 1923 |
| School type | Public |
| Principal | Steve Hanson |
| Location | 501 E. 2nd Street Ottumwa, IA 52501 |
| Enrollment | 1541 (2004–2005) |
| School colors | Red and white |
| School song | |
| Homepage | Ottumwa High School |
Ottumwa High School is a public high school located in Ottumwa, Iowa. It is part of the Ottumwa Community School District, and it is the district's only high school. It was established in 1923. The school sports mascot is a bulldog.
History
For several years, students in Ottumwa attended private classes inside area homes. Later, some students studied inside a local Methodist Episcopal church. In 1865, the first public school in Ottumwa—Adams School—was completed at "College Square," an area bounded by College, Fourth, Second, and Union Streets. The school, which utilized four classrooms on its top floor for the high school, cost $28,818.57[1] to build, and it sat on the same site as the present-day high school. It was declared unsafe in 1883. The school board voted to tear down the condemned building and build a new one at the same site. With more citizens coming to Ottumwa, an additional high school was constructed about a mile west of the Adams School site in 1899. This building later served as a junior high school until it was closed in 1985.
To address the growing student population, the Ottumwa Community School District began construction on the current high school building at the same location as the Adams School in 1921. The "new" high school was completed in 1923. As part of the construction, the Adams School was lifted from its foundation and moved east—it would serve as a building for vocational classes at the new high school.
Ottumwa High School as it stands today opened on August 29, 1923 to grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. It reportedly cost just over one million dollars to complete.[2]
In the 1970s, an additional building was completed—the "Vo-Tech" building—for vocational and performing arts classes. The facility was connected to the main building via a skywalk accessible from the second floor hallway. This decade also saw the addition of a second gymnasium, often nicknamed the "Rubber Gym" because of its rubber floor, which was built behind the first gymnasium and replaced the Adams School, which was demolished.
In the 1990s, a city property tax was levied to help fund a multi-million dollar renovation project. The original aim of the project was to renovate the school hallways and some classrooms, add additional basement classrooms, relocate the cafeteria and library to a new area adjacent to the original building and connecting to the Vo-Tech building, renovate and modernize the school's gymnasium facilities (locker and exercise rooms), and remodel the school's auditorium. The project went overbudget, and the gymnasium and auditorium phases were scratched. The cafeteria and library projects were successfully completed, along with the basement, classroom, and hallway renovations, by the end of the century. The skywalk formerly connecting the Vo-Tech and main buildings was replaced by the new building.
In spring 2001, the school received a grant for nearly $1 million from Vision Iowa to remodel the auditorium.[3] The auditorium was closed from 2002 to 2003 for renovations. Its grand re-opening took place on November 23, 2002.[4]
The latest renovations to the Ottumwa High School building came in the summer of 2003, when renovations to the gymnasium facilities were completed with aid of a federal grant obtained with the help of Iowa Senator Tom Harkin.
In 2005, the school's front steps were the focus of a local controversy. The steps, which are in disrepair, needed to be replaced. A local architectural firm suggested two options: replace the steps with a similar staircase, or scrap the steps and redesign the building's entrance and facade. Although the architectural firm and local school board both recommended the cheaper option of scrapping the steps, a grassroots campaign of graduates spoke out against removing such an iconic part of the school. In August 2005, the school board decided to keep the steps, and no major decisions about what to do with them have been made since.[5]
Campus
The main campus of Ottumwa High School consists of a four-story building in downtown Ottumwa. The hill on which the building sits was once the site of Chief Wapello's tribal village. Legend suggests he originally called the area "Ottumwa" from this spot in 1838.
The four floors of the main building can be roughly divided by subject areas: the rooms on the bottom floor contain mostly social studies and foreign language classrooms; the second floor contains several offices, family and consumer science classrooms, and mathematics classrooms; the third floor is mostly mathematics and language arts classrooms; and the fourth floor houses science and language arts classrooms. The school's auditorium and gymnasium are usually accessed from the second floor, though the auditorium extends to the fourth floor in height and the gymnasiums also extend an extra floor.
The Vo-Tech building houses vocational classrooms, a JROTC room, and a fiber optics network room on its first floor. Performing arts and special education classrooms are located on its second floor.
The two buildings are connected by a central cafeteria or commons; this building also houses a second-floor library with approximately 20,000 volumes.
Ottumwa High School does not hold any sporting contests within its campus; instead, the school uses other buildings or stadia within Ottumwa. The school does not own or maintain a parking lot for students; a local church offers permit parking for students as well as a free parking lot with a limited number of places. The school does maintain two parking lots for faculty.
Students
Enrollment during the fall quarter of the 2004–2005 school year was 1541 students. 90% of the student body is white, 7% is Hispanic, 2% is Asian, 1% is African American, and less than 1% is of another descent.
15% of the student body qualifies for a special education program, while just over 10% of the student body speaks English as a second language. 33% of all graduates completed four years of English/language arts study and three years of either mathematics, science, or social studies in 2004–2005.[6]
Ottumwa High School welcomes around ten foreign exchange students per year.
Faculty
There are approximately 110 full-time faculty at Ottumwa High School, including 16 administrators or secretaries. This places the student-to-teacher ratio at approximately 16:1.
In 2001, anatomy/physiology teacher Gail Wortmann was named "Iowa Teacher of the Year." She was also awarded the Milken Family Foundation Teacher of the Year award in that year. From 2000–2002, science teacher Peggy Steffen served as an Einstein Fellow for NASA.
Extracurricular activities
Students at Ottumwa High School can participate in many extracurricular activities. In addition to 12 varsity athletic teams (baseball/softball, basketball, bowling, cheerleading, cross-country running, football, golf, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling), OHS offers numerous clubs and other activities. The OHS drama department presents several productions annually, and the band, choirs, and orchestra present several concerts.
An art club, debate team, speech team, international club, and science club are joined by local chapters of DECA, Future Educators of America, SADD, and the National Honor Society (known at OHS as the "Torch Club") to extend opportunities for students. There is also a student council with approximately 50 members, who help to plan homecoming (an annual tradition since 1938), intramural sports (basketball, dodgeball, powder puff football, and volleyball), and multiple "Spirit Weeks."
Students may also take a year-long course to help produce the "Argus Annual," an annual yearbook since 1904, the student newspaper (formerly the "Argus News," but is now the "Bulldog Bulletin"), or the student television show ("BNN"). A student-run café—with gourmet food cooked by family and consumer science students—offers bi-weekly meals to the community. Another class offers students interested in going directly into a field of work after graduation job shadowing experience.
Student traditions are observed around the week of homecoming, which is usually close to the end of September or early October. Students celebrate the school day with "dress-up days," (such as "duct tape day"), a parade, a bonfire/local band concert, and a football game. Cheerleaders and football players TP each others' houses during homecoming week, and the senior class often celebrates Friday with a senior prank.
Curriculum
Ottumwa High School utilizes a seven-period school day, with classes beginning at 8:15 am and ending at 3:00 pm. All students are required to take several core academic classes, including three years of language arts, two years of mathematics, three years of social studies, two years of science, and four years of physical education to graduate and receive a diploma.
46 credits are required, and each daily semester-long course is one credit. A student must have a course load of at least 5½ credits per semester.
Noted alumni
- Herschel C. Loveless – 1927 – Governor of Iowa (1957–1961)
- Carol Morris – 1954 – Miss Universe winner in 1956
- Tom Arnold – 1977 – actor
Notes
- ^ Meagher, G.; Munsell, H. Ottumwa, Yesterday and Today. p. 49 and 51.
- ^ Ottumwa Courier (2001), Ottumwa to receive nearly $1 million for OHS improvements.
- ^ Ottumwa Courier (Nov. 24, 2002), Hundreds pack new auditorim.
- ^ Ottumwa Courier (Aug. 9, 2005), No repairs for OHS stairs.
- ^ Ottumwa Community School District (2004–2005), Annual Report.
References
- Taylor, J. Ottumwa: One Hundred Years a City. Chicago: Max Corp. 1948. p. 52.
- Meagher, G., Munsell, H. Ottumwa, Yesterday and Today. Ottumwa, Iowa: Ottumwa Stamp Works. 1923. p. 48–52.
- Sterling, R. Wapello County History. Montezuma, Iowa: Sutherland Printing Company Inc. 1986. p. 154–159
- Baker, C. In retrospect. Virginia Beach: The Donning Company. 1992. p. 164–167.